Discovering Washington: Lake Chelan

I have always been in love with my state. Washington has it all. It’s on the coast, there is plenty of access to salt and fresh water, mountains, and trees galore. If you’re tired of the persistent rain mild summer on the Seattle side of the mountains, you can travel to the east side, it’s significantly hotter.

There are some fun towns to visit, from the “Old West” town of Winthrop, to the “Bavarian” town of Leavenworth. We certainly have a variety. But the town my family and I visited most recently was Chelan.

The little town of Chelan is on a lake of the same name. The lake is 52 miles long, and at its deepest, it’s 1486 feet deep. The water is crystal clear glacier water.

Since we can usually count on warmer weather in Chelan, it’s always a nice get-away. Not to mention the fun outdoor activities.My family has been going to Lake Chelan every year for about 25 years. Some of the activities have changed over time, but one thing remains the same-a lot of fun in the sun! And now I get to share it with my kiddos!

There are some great boutiques to visit. We like to wander the town and do some shopping at least once while we’re visiting. Since we’ve been taking the kids, we do our shopping when they’re napping (grandma and grandpa babysit). The stores aren’t very conducive for a double stroller or handsy toddlers.

When I was a kid, the only thing I wanted to do was swim. If my parents let me, I would have stayed in the water the entire day (they never did). My kids are no different. They had a fantastic time swimming and playing in the water until they were both wiped out.There is also a nice sandy beach, perfect for building sand castles.As much as my daughter loves playing in the sand, with the heat, the water was much more inviting.

As an adult, I look forward to the wine. There are 28 wineries and tasting rooms in the immediate area. If wine tasting isn’t your thing, it’s still worth it to visit one or two. Most of them have an incredible view.For the wine lovers, this is your heaven. There’s something about tasting where the grapes are grown, while chatting with the owner. And as I said, there are 28 places to choose from!Some of them charge a tasting fee ranging from $5-10. About half of them waive the fee if you end up buying a bottle. We usually check the map and try to visit a new place every year.

Not all of the vineyards are family friendly. We went to one on our visit that had a lovely, inviting lawn to run and play. Luckily my husband noticed the tiny yellow signs on the wire fence that said it was electric! Yikes!

On the other hand, we’ve been to plenty in the past that have activities for kids.If you’re going to go wine tasting with the kiddos, you may want to do a bit of research.They also have wine tours if you don’t have the kids along and you’re concerned about driving. We always have a designated driver. Not everyone in our party likes wine, but they enjoy the view and hanging out with the wine tasters so they’re willing to drive.

There are plenty of other activities in the town for families. I’m looking forward to when the kids are older and we can visit the water park, Slidewaters. It’s small, but I love it because it’s always a blast and rarely ever crowded (in my experience).

You can also go parasailing (my husband went last year), rent a boat or sea doos, play miniature golf, go fishing, kayaking, and paddle boarding. And one of my daughter’s favorite things to do is feed the ducks.

You can even make a whole day of it and visit the tiny town of Stehekin. It’s at the opposite end of the lake. The only way in or out is by sea plane or boat. Yes, people live there year round. And no, I’ve never gone. I always think we’re going to, but when it comes down to it, we find something else we want to do. Maybe one day.

So if you’re in Washington and you want to visit our version of wine country, Chelan is the perfect place to go. Or, if you want a beautiful place to relax, soak up the sun with a variety of outdoor activities, Lake Chelan is a fantastic choice!

Does your family go on a yearly vacation? Do you go to the same place, or a different one every year?

Thank you so much for stopping by! If you’d like, please give me a vote by clicking the banner below. Thank you!

22 Comments

I SO want to visit the PNW! This looks like a great spot to vacation. We usually go to Ogunquit, ME every year for our family vacation. It’s so nice to pass things on to our kids that we enjoyed as a child!

It’s so gorgeous up here! So many fun places to visit with incredible scenery where ever you go. I absolutely agree, its so much fun to pass things on to our kids! We try to visit new places occasionally, but I love going to the same place every year!

So great! We actually did a spring break trip to Lake Chelan with a few friends from BC, Canada many years back! Such a cute little town. We had a blast! Thanks for sharing…brings back memories! xox Christine http://www.amidstthechaos.ca

Wow! This looks lovely! Especially the boutique shopping and wine hehe! I love that view from the Adirondack chairs – I think I’d like to take my wine to that spot! My family has an amazing place on Cape Cod, and we love to go there – but I dropped the ball on telling my aunt in time that I wanted a week this year so we missed out. I’m SO sad, it’s one of my favorite places ever and with summer being so short and having such a big family, we really have to give her a heads up in advance. Hopefully next summer! Ps, LOVE the pics of your kiddo’s! When it’s hot my daughter prefers the water over playing in the sand too!

All I wanted to do was take a glass of wine and sit in those chairs! They looked perfect! But alas, we were with my parents and the kids… Sorry you missed out on your summer spot this year, that’s so frustrating. I hope you have your spot for next year. Thank you!! I would prefer the water too, lol!

This place sounds so fantastic! I love how it’s in a hotter, dryer part of WA but the lake is glacial. It makes the water so clean. The photos you took are gorgeous!!! We used to take our yearly summer vacation to Birch Bay, WA and then many times go to a friend’s summer home in Watcom for an additional week. Some time in university we started to the Interior of BC where there too are a lot of vineyards, it is dessert-like and has the warmest lake in Canada. Actually the lake is 1/2 in Osoyoos, 1/2 Oroville, WA. Now it’s time to find new vacation spots 🙂

Recent Posts

Archives

Archives

Categories

Categories

Fine Print

Mama By Fire is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Mama By Fire is also part of other affiliate advertising programs. This means if you click or make a purchase through an affiliate link, I may make a commission on the click or purchase through this site or through Mama By Fire's social media sites (Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram). It does not change the price to you. All opinions are my own. I disclose where an affiliate link is and if I have received gifted items.